Kirsten hip hops to gold

The Elim Christian College student is a member of Hip Hop International junior division world champion crew Bubblegum.

TOP GIRL: Kirsten Dodgen with her medal for winning the junior division of the Hip Hop International world championships. Times photo Wayne Martin.

Teams from 40 countries descended on Las Vegas last month for the 10th anniversary of the event.

Bubblegum were joined by varsity team Sorority and megacrew The Royal Family as first-place getters in their divisions. All of the crews rehearse at The Palace Studio and are led by choreographer Parris Goebel.

Kirsten, who lives in East Tamaki, has been trained in a number of dance styles but hip hop is where her heart is.

“Hip hop is my passion,” says the Year 9 student. “I can’t stop dancing, it’s like I go into a different world.”

Bubblegum is made up of eight boys and girls aged 10 to 13. Kirsten had wanted to join the crew since it placed fifth at last year’s event.

To improve on that result, the dancers train for six hours each Saturday which was then ramped up to daily sessions leading into the championships.

“It all paid off on the stage,” Kirsten says. “We earned the highest ever junior score and one of the highest scores on the night – 8.37 out of 10.”

The group performed one song in which they mixed four different styles – whacking, locking, popping and new jack.

“Whacking is movements with your arms while keeping your posture straight,” Kirsten says. “Popping is more precise and making sure your moves are on point.”

The trip was Kirsten’s second to the world champs. She placed sixth in 2008 with De Ja Vu before linking with Goebel and The Palace last year.

“Parris is one of the top people in hip hop in the world,” she says. “When I first joined, it was scary because I didn’t know what her expectations would be.”

The taskmaster’s gruelling training regime worked wonders as the team won each preliminary round by a big margin, including a defeat of last year’s winners from Japan.

“It was mind-blowing,” says Kirsten. “When we won, the other crews and some of the judges were saying, ‘you’re so good, I can’t believe you come from a small country like New Zealand’.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

New Zealand First has accepted Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross’ proxy vote. What do you think?

Ross need’s to resign his seat as Botany MP and give up his proxy vote. Give the Botany community a chance to vote for someone new if they so choose.

Peters is correct to accept the proxy vote as the Botany community deserves representation in Parliament. Voters made it clear they support Ross when they elected him with a significant majority in 2016.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, one proxy vote won’t make a difference.

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Ross need’s to resign his seat as Botany MP and give up his proxy vote. Give the Botany community a chance to vote for someone new if they so choose. 62%, 18 votes

18 votes62%

18 votes - 62% of all votes

Peters is correct to accept the proxy vote as the Botany community deserves representation in Parliament. Voters made it clear they support Ross when they elected him with a significant majority in 2016. 31%, 9 votes

9 votes31%

9 votes - 31% of all votes

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, one proxy vote won’t make a difference. 7%, 2 votes

2 votes7%

2 votes - 7% of all votes

Total Votes: 29

November 15, 2018

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You or your IP had already vote.

Ross need’s to resign his seat as Botany MP and give up his proxy vote. Give the Botany community a chance to vote for someone new if they so choose.

Peters is correct to accept the proxy vote as the Botany community deserves representation in Parliament. Voters made it clear they support Ross when they elected him with a significant majority in 2016.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, one proxy vote won’t make a difference.

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